Gree Laid Off 30 Staff In Its San Francisco Office

Japanese social networking service and game publisher Gree reportedly laid off around 30 staff from its San Francisco office last week, GamesIndustry International claims through anonymous sources.

“We have recently aligned GREE’s US studio to focus on creating the next generation of mobile social games.” Gree International Inc. COO, Anil Dharni said in a statement. “This shift in focus has been clearly demonstrated by the success and growth of our games.”

“As part of ensuring that we are operating as efficiently as possible, we have made the difficult decision to reduce our work force. The employees leaving today have made great contributions to our success and we wish them all the best.”

Last November, Gree laid off around 25 employees after closing its iOS and Android social gaming network OpenFeint. Gree acquired OpenFeint for $104 million in 2011. Back in February the company earmarked $10 million for the “Gree Partners Fund”, an initiative where Gree could “jump in early” with talented mobile game developers, help them build up their games and then help them become successful.